It is a beautiful days, friends! I am home and the sun is shining. I was able to go out and sit on the porch today. It finally felt like spring!
I did tell a few people in chat that I was going to Johns Hopkins Bayview for surgery on my foot. I will try to do a quick synopsis of how the last few years have gone. I have had a wound in my heel for almost 2 years. They have had my foot wrapped and wearing special boots on my left foot. I have had anitbiotics, including IV antibiotics given thru picc lines. In May, I finally had to ask my heart surgeon and agree to all the risks for my heart bypass surgery which had been on hold for a year between my foot, kidneys, and lung problems. All of us here were beginning to realize that i wouldn't make it much longer without the bypass.
My foot didn't heal though. In August, they put a stent in the top of my left leg. The foot still didn't heal. By then they were becoming convinced that my bone was infected. The doctor at the Wound Care Center here sent me down to Johns Hopkins for an appointment with a vascular surgeon who also works on bones. Before the appointment, my boot stuck on the floor and i took a hard fall in the hallway. I broke bones in my elbow. They sent me a home for a week to let the swelling go down before i went back down for surgery on November 20. They put plates and pins in my arm.
My kidney function which was pretty low, went lower. They think as a result of the surgery and a drop too low in my blood pressure. They had taken me off of lasix which i was on in high doses and my already fluid overloaded body added another 19 lbs in 10 days. In January, I had a defibrilator put in my chest to shock me because of having congestive heart failure.
So, I went in on the 26th of February. They went in debried the wound and found it wasn't down to the bone. That meant it wasn't getting enough circulation and a few days later, they did a bypass on my foot using a vein from my right arm. At the same time they put in a fistula for dialysis. That takes 2 months to mature and so they are using a temporarilly site for dialysis. I had taken off the 19 lbs, but i started gaining fluid again after the surgery until they started the dialysis. By the way, the surgeon had told me in advance that they would put me on dialysis. So, it wasn't a surprise. Right now i am getting dialysis 3 days a week.
After going in a third time and closing the foot up, they wrapped it good and i stayed off it until last week when i was finally able to put weight on it using a special boot. Until that they had me doing rehab on my arms and legs to build up strength while my left foot is healing. Since, I have 13 steps in the house, I had to be able to put weight on my foot to come home, but i am not suppose to do too much on it.
Two good things have happened though, from when i got out of the hospital on December 1st, I weigh about 50 lbs less, most all fluid folks. When you see someone who is overweight don't assume it is all fat. I think I don't have a great deal more of extra fluid left, but i still haven't made it to my "dry" weight. They will be unable to get off fluid in dialysis when i reach it. Underneath all this fluid, i have become quite weak and need to build up strength and muscle. The other thing is i went in to the hospital using 3 liters of oxygen and now am using only 1 liter occassionally, after exerting myself. What an improvement!
Well this isn't short, but it does explain a great deal. I find that surgery for me seems to make it more difficult to focus, but i have practiced where and how i could, especially since i have been falling asleep at the drop of a hat. Although most people with kidney disease are suppose to reduce protein, my albumin count is very low and they are encouraging me to eat/drink more protein. I am finding it quite difficult to do. I might write more in a few days about this in another thread.
Thanks for everyone's support! One thing i have found is that with every new procedure, surgery, and diagnosis, I have to re-evaluate the parameters of how, why, and if i continue existance. I haven't reached the end just yet, but practice even in a small way is most essential to continue. If you pray or chant for me, I would be eternally grateful if you would focus on that.
With much metta
,
sattva/louise